Alberta

A glance of what Alberta is like to ride in

What It’s Really Like to Ride Your Motorcycle In Alberta

Ever have one of those moments AH-HAA moments? That is what it is like to ride in Alberta, from the badlands to the mountains, from less traveled roads to the gate to a National Park. The diversity of landscape and scenery will leave you speechless!

Mountains, Rivers, Glaciers, Forests, Cities, Towns along with hundred of thousands of kilometres to ride, enjoying the fresh air, being greeted by motorcycle friendly people.

Every type of motorcyclist can find a great road to ride on, plenty of places to stop for the night, grab a burger and if need be, repair your bike. If you haven’t rode in Alberta, plan a trip this year, need help with any routes, just ASK US!

Watch the video! See what one part of Alberta is really like

Ride Details

Safety: Is it safe to ride your motorcycle in Alberta?

Speed Limits & Laws Find out about Alberta Laws, more than just speed limits

Border Crossing: Where to cross into Alberta from the USA

Alberta Roads: What are the roads really like, is there much gravel

Gas: What are gas options like and where?

Biker Friendly Accommodation: What sort of options are there for clean cheap motels?

Must Do Rides: Voted by Albertans who ride these roads every chance they get!

Riding Conditions you’ll want to be aware of this

Top Rides in Alberta

If you are looking for a day ride with not much traffic, taking the backroads to Bently is the way to go. The outdoor patio is full on a hot summer day, a popular place with great food, great atmoshphere and the drinks are cold!

Doesn't matter where you start from, North, South, East or West, riding around the badlands is amazing, the roads are in great conditions, scenery is top notch, great idea to plan a weekend and tour around.

Planning a Ride to Alberta?

Read the rest of this page for trip planning details. You’ll be glad you did. If you find it useful, please share it

Must Do Rides in Alberta

Hope you have the whole summer to spend in Alberta, there are that many magnificent roads to ride, places to stop, admire and breathtaking scenery only experienced on 2 wheels.

Highway 40; Highwood Pass

Voted Most Favorite ride to do in Alberta by Albertans. A Super day ride that will take you to Canada’s Highest Paved Pass, epic!

Highway 93; Lake Louise to Jasper

A Huge Favorite day ride to do, the mountains, the lakes, the glaciers, you will not be disappointed!

Badlands of Alberta

So many great roads to take you to discover the Badlands. Warmer temperatures as you ride into a mini Grand Canyon

Top 3 Rides

10 Great Alberta Burgers ~ 10 Great Alberta Rides

Upcoming Motorcycle Events in Alberta

No Events

Riding Conditions

Riding in Beautiful Alberta from April to October is the regular riding season, with the gigantic Canadian Rockies hugging the west side of the province, weather can change in an instant. The closer you are to the mountains the more sporadic the weather can be, not uncommon to ride from Lake Louise to Jasper in July and ride through a snow storm!

Riding in the Morning

Mornings can be chilly, may even have to scrape your windshield, be prepared by wearing proper gear.

Riding in the Afternoon

Just like riders enjoying the heat of the day, so do the animals. Closer to the mountains you will see lots of mountain goats hanging out on the highway.

Riding in the Evening

Like anywhere else you ride, not a great time to ride as the sun setting in your eyes, animals out roaming and you may be tired from the amazing views you just witnessed.

Good Information for Riding in Alberta

Texting & Driving Distracted Video

While riding in Alberta you will find that it is a safe place to ride in, the people are really friendly. The locals are farmer/ranchers to the oil& gas industry guys & gals.

Driver’s License/Insurance – Alberta promotes Motorcycle Awareness from early spring to late fall. You must have valid insurance to ride in Alberta, along with a valid drivers license.

Once you are in Alberta there are plenty of fuel stations to gas up at, buy snacks and have air available, for a Loonie WTH?!?!. Price of fuel is in Litres, gas stations sell snacks and hot food, some are attached to restaurants and very few sell alcohol. Drinking age is 18 in Alberta, strict laws that are followed to the extreme.

If you are riding from Montana you have a few choices to cross into Alberta, the Yellowgrass/Shelby Border Crossing is open 24 hours.

The Drake Inn, Canmore

Located in the Heart of Canmore:909 Railway AveVoted Best Pub in the Rockies Skier MagazinePhone: (403)678-5131Website:The Drake Inn, Canmore

our rating:3 / 5

price:Call for Pricing

* Motorcycle Friendly Cool Place

Rooms are great, Queen/King & Suites.

Rooms with Views… amazing

Very Cool restaurant and bar attached

Live Bands play every weekend

What Are Alberta Roads Like?

Alberta is a well to do province, and for the most part prides itself on road conditions, from major highways to secondary roads to even the gravel roads. Alberta is an active province with the Oil & Gas industry and roads are expected to be in good condition year round. There are a lot of great secondary roads that are less traveled, that will take you through some pretty neat small towns who welcome motorcyclist. We asked other riders what they thought of the roads in Alberta:

“For all the traffic they see, the roads are pretty good”

“rode through lots of construction last summer”

“highways are quite fast moving, especially the QEII”

“after the frost heaves are fixed it is smooth sailing”

“there are lots of road side pullovers to rest at”

“too busy looking around to notice anything about the roads”

There’s a few more details we’d like to share, so have a look at our post about it.

Alberta Laws

DOT Approved Helmet

It is the law for riders and passengers to wear a DOT approved helmet, you must have a valid driver’s license and insurance is also mandatory. Safety is important while riding, being alert and aware of your surroundings is key to a fun safe ride, signage is very good in most areas.

Construction Zone

Spring, Summer and Fall there is a lot of construction to rebuild all these millions of kilometres of roads, it is the law to slow down to the posted speed limit through a construction zone, fines are STEEP!

Passing Emergency Vehicles

At any time you pass an emergency vehicle (Police, Ambulance, Tow Truck, etc) on the shoulder of the road or in a lane, it is the law to slow down to 60km/hr

Who doesn’t love a great burger and we know you love a great ride, so why not put the 2 of the greatest LOVES together in one spot! We rode our motorcycles around Alberta looking for great rides and great burgers and we found A LOT of them, check out the 10 Great Alberta Burgers and 10 Great Alberta Rides. We teamed up with Blue Circle Insurance, Intact Insurance and Travelers and put 10 burger rides in a cool amazing laminated foldable map, throw it in your saddle bag.

Want a map?

10 Great Alberta Burgers ~ 10 Great Alberta Rides

Watch Out for Alberta Wildlife

Alberta is known for its wildlife, big or small there are a lot of animals all across this great land. When riding your motorcycle, from far it is really exciting to see that animal, hoping your passenger has their camera ready for the perfect shot. When it is NOT exciting is when the animal is on the road in your path, grazing on the side of the road or quickly making that mad dash across the road.

Across Alberta you will find similar animals, like the white tail deer/ mule deer can be found from east to west, north to south.